Max Kellerman could soon be leaving “First Take.” Plus: Lee Corso is reportedly headed back out onto the road this season, while Jackie MacMullan is calling it a career at ESPN.
Kellerman expected to leave “First Take”
ESPN “First Take” pundit Max Kellerman is expected to leave the show but remain with ESPN, according to Front Office Sports and the New York Post. Kellerman has been Stephen A. Smith’s sparring partner on the debate show for the past five years, filling a position previously held by Skip Bayless.
Kellerman’s departure could kickstart another round of changes at ESPN. Per the Post, Kellerman is “likely” going to pair with Keyshawn Johnson on ESPN Radio’s primary morning show — replacing Zubin Mehenti, who has missed significant time due to health issues — and get his own daytime ESPN show that could replace “Jalen & Jacoby” and “Highly Questionable.”
ESPN does not plan to replace Kellerman on “First Take.” [Front Office Sports 8.18, NYP 8.18]
Corso headed back out on the road
ESPN “College Gameday” analyst Lee Corso — who spent all of last season appearing on the show remotely from his home — is set to resume appearing on-site this season, Awful Announcing reported Wednesday. Corso, 86, is in the age group by far at greatest risk from COVID-19. Other broadcasters in his age cohort, such as Marv Albert and Hubie Brown, resumed working games in-person earlier in the summer. [Awful Announcing 8.18]
MacMullan retiring
ESPN NBA writer Jackie MacMullan is retiring from the company at the end of the month. MacMullan is in her second stint with ESPN, having rejoined the company in 2010 after a previous run as a correspondent from 1990-95. She has appeared on ESPN programming throughout her four-decade career, serving as a regular panelist on “The Sports Reporters” throughout the show’s 29-year run and making more than 900 appearances on “Around the Horn,” her first coming in the show’s first week on-air. Her final ESPN appearance, at least for the time being, will be on Around the Horn August 31.
Prior to joining ESPN in 2010, MacMullan wrote for the Boston Globe from 1982-2008 and was a senior writer for Sports Illustrated and CNN/SI contributor in the late 1990s. [ESPN PR]
